Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Books of 2012

I used to be a ravenous reader (imagine that... an English major who likes to read), always reading for fun on top of any reading I had to do for school. Sometime after my sophomore year of college, something changed and I quit reading extracurricularly. I think I just got burnt out or something. I'd only read a couple books a year in the time since I graduated college (2007!).  Thankfully, sometime at the end of 2011, I regained my hunger for books! I didn't read much at the beginning of 2012, but picked up again this summer and I ended up reading 15 books this year!  That doesn't include the Bible studies I did this year or the picture books I read to my children... otherwise I read about a hundred ;)

I mostly read Tedd Dekker books this year. Once I find something I like I tend to keep reading it til there's nothing left.  If you don't know, Tedd Dekker is a Christian writer who mostly writes thrillers. Some are pretty intense or scary... page-turners for sure!   I'd read a couple Dekker books before and there are still more to read, but these are the ones I got through this year (most of them are connected):


Skin- Sort of a supernatural "who done it" story... and I can't remember who done it :P
Thr3e- Probably my favorite Dekker book this year- what a twist!
House- Weird and creepy!!
Showdown- A really interesting idea and immersive story.
Saint- Good sequel to Showdown.
Sinner- I had a harder time getting into this one so it took me forever to finish.
Forbidden (audio book)- Really interesting premise. I'm looking forward to the sequels.
 
Divergent (Veronica Roth)- Set in a post-apocalyptic world. I really enjoyed it a lot. Sort of the same vein as The Hunger Games.
Insurgent (Veronica Roth)- Not AS good as the first, but still enjoyable. Excited for the third book!


Ready Player One (audio book) (Earnest Cline)- This is probably my favorite book of the year.  It's FULL of nerd references and pop culture (of the 1980's). Another post-apocalyptic type setting.  It was just so much fun to read (or listen to!).

Life of Pi (audio book) (Yann Martel)- A re-read for me. I have to say that I didn't enjoy it the second time as much as I did the first, but it was still good. Just slow to get started. The ending of this book is the best part.

The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)- Another re-read so I could discuss it with some friends. It's a really good/ well-written book, but SO tragic and none of the characters are very likeable.

On a Pale Horse (Anthony Piers)- This was really interesting! Set in a world where science and magic exist side by side.  A lot to do with death. The author/story has a really wonky view of the supernatural!  I found the ending anticlimactic, but I'm interested in reading the other books in the series.

Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)- Another re-read. I Looove this book. It's pretty extreme/brutal/emotional sometimes, but an amazing story and wonderful writing. I'm currently reading the rest of the series.


It was a good year for reading! I'm looking forward to the books this year has in store for me :) One and a half done already!

Follow me on Goodreads if you want to be my lit buddy :)

4 comments:

Jael Paris said...

Nice!

We may do some Ender for Petticoat Despots this year.

becca said...

Yay reading! I had a rough patch after college too. It really wasn't until I was living in Chicago with no cable, no money and only a library card to entertain me that I really got back into reading like i used to.

I need to get back to reading the Ender-verse books. I've read Ender's Game, the shadow series and Ender in Exile. I still need to read the rest of the actual books about Ender though. I'm very excited for the Ender's Game movie too!

Amanda said...

Wait a second. You can read books twice?! I never thought of that ;) lol. I'm like... "Re-read".. She read a book she'd already read?! I'm always so happy when I finish a book, I can't imagine picking it up again! Haha. Actually, there are several I think I need to read again. I love that were friends, and yet so opposite in what we like. I probably couldn't read one of those books.. Lol.. Unless its a non-fiction book, I can't read it. Same for movies and tv. If its not a reality show, or something that could really happen.. I just can't watch it! Haha. Don't think that's you ;) I saw a movie trailer for life of pi, looked awesome actually! Maybe I'll just rent that instead of read it. Lol. That counts, right :)

Lizzy said...

I loved Ted Dekker as well! Thr3e was by far the best but after Skin, I put him down. Seemed like they were forming a pattern that made them predictable. Currently, I'm reading Julie and Julia (seen the movie?) and it has inspired me to cook! So...thank you for the next post about all your recipes! I'm going to try them!